I don't watch a ton of TV, but every now and then I run across a show that I quickly come to adore. It happened when good friend and writing buddy Deb Raney introduced me to that wonderful Eric and Tami Taylor on Friday Night Lights.
It happened when I was listening to NPR one day in the car on the way home from Kroger, and the announcer mentioned something about some new British show that was supposedly taking America by storm. Ahem...
It happened one day on Facebook when I had posted something about Sense & Sensibility (and how I love that movie), and a reader asked if I'd seen North & South. What's not to love?
Then it happened for me again most recently a couple of weeks ago with a series set in the old West. I remember seeing the previews of the show when it first debuted in 2011 but I was on a frienzied writing deadline and the recordings on my DVR came and went.
Then week before last when I was searching Netflix for something new to watch instantly on my iPad, up popped Hell on Wheels, and oh, I was quickly in series love again.
The setting? 1865, just after the Civil War when the Transcontinental Railroad was being built. Hell on wheels refers to the settlement that accompanied the construction of the railroad, along with the variety of company men, surveyors, support workers, laborers, and prostitutes who populated it. The show centers around "the race" between the Union Pacific Railroad of the East and Central Pacific Railroad of California to build a railroad that would ultimately connect the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States by rail for the first time.
The show's main character is Cullen Bohannon (isn't that a great Southern name?), a former Confederate soldier who works as a foreman while also working to track down the Union soldiers who murdered his wife and child. Let's just say this character was created for Anson Mount (the guy who plays Cullen). Oh my goodness, in so many ways. I'm just sayin'...
Granted, this show isn't for the faint of heart in regard to violence or "brothel behavior" of the day, but this western-lovin'-gal-at-heart is eating up the first two seasons. Season 3 premieres later this year. The characters are great, the writing is spot on, and the costumes are deliciously detailed and authentic. In fact, I just got the inspiration for my next "cover dress" from one of the episodes. Love it when that happens.
Tell me, have you experienced "series love" anytime recently? I watch a show every day as I walk on the treadmill, so I'll be needing a new series soon. Please share!
Blessings on your Tuesday, friends!
